


180 - Jealousy, Flirting, & Angst

by storiesaboutvan



Category: Catfish and the Bottlemen (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-09 05:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17400794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/storiesaboutvan/pseuds/storiesaboutvan
Summary: Filling the prompts “one where a girl is flirting with Van all night at an after party or a bar but the reader doesn’t really care because she knows he loves her, and the girl who’s flirting is being rude and cutting reader off all night, Van and the lads are annoyed but keep quiet. Reader goes to get drinks and whilst she’s gone the flirter insults her looks and calls her annoying or something, reader hears when she’s like behind her and starts to cry and Van snaps at the flirterer?” and “one where y/n is dating van and they go to a friends reunion and they are having a lot of fun ;) but van’s ex is there and there’s a lot of tension and they fight but he makes sure she knows she’s the one he wants to be with”





	180 - Jealousy, Flirting, & Angst

By the time you were finally ready, the sun had gone down and Van and Larry had finished a couple games of Fifa. If you fucked around in front of the bathroom mirror any longer you'd make everyone late. There was already enough anxiety coursing through your body, you didn't need that compounded by guilt. Your winged eyeliner would never be perfect and your hair would eventually curl where you didn't want it to; a fact you'd have to come to terms with if you planned on leaving the house at all. Out in the lounge room you stood quietly and waited for one of them to notice you.

"Good, Y/N?" Larry asked, only glancing up at you for a second.

"Yeah," you replied in a hushed tone.

Van paused the game and looked up. How quickly his face broke into a toothy smile was enough to lift a little of the weight on your shoulders. He put the controller down and stood, walking to you and pulling you into him. Showered and clean clothed, he was warm and pretty and yours.

"Lookin' gorgeous, love," he whispered.

"This is okay, then? Not too much? 'Cause I don't want all your friends to think-"

"Y/N. Do I care what anybody thinks? You look amazin'. Don’t stress," Van interrupted. It really was that easy for him. Say 'don't stress' and he wouldn't. If only the rest of the world could be like that.

You followed them out the house and into a taxi that delivered you to a club that had been hired out by someone the guys knew. They'd be a party, a reunion, and almost everyone Van had ever parted with, made music with, loved growing up, would be there. It was nerve-wracking. You wanted people to see how hard Van had worked and how good his life was. Part of that life, or more accurately, fundamental to that life, was you. You just wanted to make Van proud, like you had for the four years you'd been together.

A couple of drinks and a couple of familiar faces later, you were back to being your calm self. Honestly, you could have passed out after one drink and drooled all over his jeans and Van would have made that stupid in love face and puffed with pride. He was that in love and it was so easy to believe it as he spent more time telling his friends about you than the band.

You were sitting around a table with people; Van to your left, Larry to your right. A friend from high school named Reuben that used to cover for them when they skipped had a laugh that reminded you of every dad you'd ever met. It was wholesome and warm and you liked him instantly. Next to him was his sister who didn't introduce herself and nobody else bothered either. Her name wasn't dropped in conversation, so you just hoped the need to know it would never come up. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun that you envied. How could girls look so cute so effortlessly? Last at the table was Simone, a girl a year older than Van who he used to date. That fact was established quickly by Simone when you sat at the table.

Van didn't know the name of the Vice President of the U.S., and Simone laughed.

"See, this is why you and I never would have worked out, babe. Bit shallow, you are, and I like my men with a bit more substance," she said. The table made a collective sound that was half laugh, half 'ohhhhhhh, fuckin' snap.' You put your hand on Van's thigh under the table, and a smirk curled up at just the edge of his mouth.

As the conversation went on and it became clear that neither you or Van would take the bait and engage in whatever Simone was trying to start, she upped her game. When Reuben went for more drinks, she took his seat next to Van and started a private conversation with him. Her whispers and her hand on his arm were in direct contradiction to the nasty things she'd been saying about him, but they did nothing to upset you. Van's hand had a tight grip on yours, and he moved your entwined fingers to sit on the table. It was a warning, but Simone was undeterred. You turned to Larry.

"What's she doing?" you mouthed to him. He shrugged and grinned. It was funny, and when Reuben came back and kicked her out of his spot, she pouted and returned to her seat.

The conversation turned to jobs and careers and universities.

"You study, Y/N?" the girl with no name asked.

"I was. Still not sure what I really want to do. I deferred and-"

"You dropped out to be his personal groupie?" Simone interrupted.

"Simone," Van said in a tone that wasn't just a warning, but a threat.

"No, no, I don't mean it in a bad way, I-"

"Fuck, Simone, you mean everything in a bad way," someone said as she pulled a chair up and joined the table. You recognised her from old photos of Van. Another ex. This one though, really had meant something. There were songs about her that he still sung. "Leave her alone. You're bitter, we get it."

The table laughed and Simone went red. You chewed your lip and glanced at Van. He was looking at the girl with a warm smile.

"Hey, Lil," he said.

"Van. What's up? Larry. Everyone," she replied.

"Lil, this is Y/N. Y/N, Lilly," Van introduced. You smiled at her. She was pretty and soft and her brown hair was like milk chocolate. She was probably just as sweet. 

"Heard lots about you. Girl that finally pinned this one down. A feat. Congrats," she said.

"Thanks?" you replied with a grin.

Van liked Lilly. They dominated the conversation, everyone else really an audience to their reunion. People chimed in when stories were told that they were a part of, but they could have easily been alone at the table. You glanced up and accidentally met Simone's eyes. She smirked, rolled her eyes, and excused herself.

"While I just love watching old love spark up, I'm gonna go have a smoke," she teased. Van didn't respond, nor did he reach for you in any act to calm or reassure.

Soon after, Reuben challenged Larry to a game of pool, and the girl with no name disappeared when she spotted her friend across the room. You sat for another fifteen minutes listening to Van and Lilly. When you couldn't tap out the anxiety through your jittering foot anymore, and when the burning in your lungs begged for attention, you stood.

"Uh, bathroom. I'll be back," you said. Van looked up at you, studying you carefully, he nodded, and you left the table.

In the bathrooms you put the toilet seat down and sat. You had to remind yourself to breathe. Trying to self-comfort with rocking and aiming for distraction by scrolling through Instagram, you were losing track of time. Five minutes had passed when you heard the door open and a familiar voice float in. Simone was with two other girls. You listened to them chatter about a band you'd never heard of, then the quality of drinks at the bar. About to kick yourself for expecting them to talk about people, you found yourself unfortunately right.

"Did you see Jack? That's a fuckin' glow up," one of the girls said.

"Speaking of… Van? He's always been cute, but wow, did he grow up or what?" the second said.

"Ohhhhhh, yeah. Good haircut. He's got a girlfriend though, right? You were talking to them,"

"Yeah. Her name is Y/N, or something like that. Uni drop out. Nothing special," Simone told them and you could hear the smugness in her voice.

"She's really pretty," the first girl said.

"He could do better. Like, even him and Lilly would be better. At least she's interesting," Simone replied.

"Wow, you really don't like her if you're siding with Lilly,"

"Van and Lilly have chemistry. Y/N is… basic."

Naturally self-assured and having endless trust in Van, you'd never been jealous. You'd never worried when other people flirted with him, and his time on tour was not a source of anxiety for you. It just wasn't like that. But, hiding away from the party listening to one ex-girlfriend talk shit about you and leaving another ex-girlfriend with Van was all a bit much. You held in the sounds of crying until the girls left and as soon as they'd had enough time to be clear of the bathrooms, you quickly left and found your way outside, not bothering to stop by the table.

There were people out the front, smoking and catching up. As you walked fast past them, Larry grabbed your arm.

"Alright, Y/N?" he asked with a concerned look. You nodded and did your best to smile, then continued on your mission to get the fuck out of there.

A block away, sitting on the steps of a shop, you let yourself cry. Small and quiet, you were done within a couple of minutes, then rummaged through your bag for your compact. Rubbing the mascara under your eyes away, you listened as someone came around the corner. Van sat next to you, his body pressed to the side of yours.

"You're not the jealous type, Y/N. Know I love ya more than anythin'. What's happened?"

You chewed at your lip and looked over at him. He could see the sad and pulled you into his arms. Tears started to fall again.

"Um. No. It’s nothing. I'm okay. Sorry. It's… I'm okay,"

"You're not though. What's happened?" he asked again.

"You're gonna think it's dumb,"

"If it matters to you, it ain't dumb,"

"Um. It's just… a lot. Like, you and Lilly go well together and I was in the toilet and Simone came in and she was just saying some stuff and it just got to me, or whatever. It's nothing. I'm okay."

Van thought for a second. "Lilly and me don't go well together. That's why we broke up. Only together for… what, maybe almost a year? Eight months. She didn't get how important the band is. Wanted me to take things more seriously. She's not… She's not you. You're sweet and like music like me and we go together, Y/N." He kissed your forehead. "What did Simone say to you?"

"It wasn't to me. She didn't know I was there. She just said that like, I'm not good enough for you 'cause I'm boring. Said I'm basic,"

"Jesus fucking Christ, what is her problem? Don't listen to a word she says. You know I love you. You know you're the person I'm gonna marry and have babies with and nobody in that room can do or say anythin' to change that, yeah? You know that?"

"Yeah," you replied in a whisper.

"Yeah." He held your face in his hands to study, see if his words had done anything to settle you. When you smiled, he smiled. "Do ya wanna go home?"

"No. No, we can go back. I'm okay."

You stood up, holding a hand out for Van to take.

Walking back inside Simone's laugh was audible over all the other sounds. She was at the bar, and you and Van watched Benji walk past her and her friends. He glanced at the phone they were looking at, then frowned.

"What?" Van asked when Benji made a beeline straight from them to you.

"She's over there lookin' at your Instagram," he said to you.

"For fuck's sake! Stay here," Van ordered.

"What? No!"

You followed behind him as he stalked over to Simone. She looked up from the phone as he approached and smiled like she expected him to be there.

"What the fuck, Simone? You need to fuckin' get a life, yeah? Y/N hasn't done a thing to you and if you keep being this fuckin' bitchy-"

"You'll what, Van? Hit me? Tell everyone all my secrets? You don't have a mean bone in your dopey fuckin' body. I'm not being bitchy anyway. Don't know what you're on about," she said. Van swallowed hard. You pulled at his arm.

"Doesn't matter," you whispered to him. Simone stared at Van, then she winked and looked back at her phone. He grabbed it and threw it across the room in a swift and smooth motion. The music was too loud for people to really notice something had gone flying. Simone looked genuinely shocked.

"Say one more thing about her, Simone. Go on," he growled out.

"Come on," you said and pulled him outside.

He bounced on the spot and lit a cigarette. Leaning against the wall, you let him have a moment.

"Fuck," he muttered halfway through the smoke.

"You threw a phone,"

"I know. What the fuck? That was dead stupid,"

"Yeah. Bit silly," you agreed with a grin. Van smiled and walked to you.

"I'm sorry,"

"No, you don't have anything to be sorry for. You're good, Van. Maybe we should go home though?"

You called Larry to let him know you were leaving, then walked hand in hand with Van to a taxi rank a little further in town. Back home in pyjama pants and Van's old Little Comets shirt, you laid on the bed and watched him change into track pants and a hoodie. His hair had gone soft and curly from the light mist of rain you'd walked through. Van collapsed on the bed and pulled you close. He moaned in exhaustion and buried his face in your hair.

"I love you," he said. It sounded like a reminder and a promise and a truth. He needed you to understand and believe him. Sometimes he needed that more than he needed you to love him back. Both were fact though, in equal measures. 

"I know," you replied kissing the top of his head.


End file.
